Automobile-bumper



A. L. McGREGOR.

AUTOMOBILE BUMPER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 17. I921.

Patented Mar.

(Z/[arz Zj M 5215 2? ALLAN II MGGBEGOR,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMOBILE-BUMPER.

Specification of LettersPatent. Pate t d M 22 1921 Application filed January 17, 1921. Serial No.-487,735.

T0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALLAN'L. MCGREGOR,'

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain'new and useful I provements in Automobile-Bumpers, of W 10h the following is a specification.

This invention I relates to improvements in automobile bumpers, and more particularly to bumpers of the resilient bar type, and further characterized .by the wide impact surface consisting of two or more ars spaced apart in the same vertical plane. In common with bumpers of all types, the

object of the present invention is to provide a structure which will afford. the greatest protection to a motor vehicle in the event of collision. The desirable features of a bumper of this character are obtained, for the most part, by assembling and arranging the resilient bars in such a manner as-to absorb the maximum amount of the force of impact b the resilient qualities of the structure, at t e same time having a su-flicient degreeof-strength and rigidity to enable the parts to resume their original shape without permanent distortion. 7

A bumper having these general charteristics will now be described in connection with the accompanying drawings,'. 1'n

' which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a bumper as attached to a vehicle frame,

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of the.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed view taken on line 3'--3 of Fig. 2, showing the connection used at the central portion of the impact section,

Fig.4 is a similar detailed view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2, and showing the typeof connection used at the'ends of the impact section,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, showing the method of attaching the bumper to the vehicle frame, and

6 vertical section taken on line 66 of Elggl.

A bumper of the general; class to which the present type belongs, comprises an1ini+ act member extending. throughout the full ength of the bumper, and made up of resilient ,bars' 1-1- spaced apart vertically, one above the other, and having. the same shape or conformatlon; As clearly shown connection.

is an enlarged detailed View in in Fig.1, each of the bars 1 has a straight central portion WlllCh may be said to constitute the central impact section A. Be-

the extreme ends of the bumper and thearms 22 are concave in a forward direction, and adjacent to their free endsresume a parallel relation to the impact section A, and meet the arms 2-2 at right angles.

v In Flg. 5 is disclosed the manner in which .the bars 1-- 1' are secured to the arms 2-2 of the attaching brackets, these arms being preferably integral projections extending forwardly from a bracketclamped to the forward ends of the frame members 3-3. Extending vertically through each of the arms 2 is apin 4 projecting equal distances above and belowthe arm. Surrounding the projectin ortions of the pin are the free ends 0 t e bars 1--1, there being formed: eyes at said ends of the bars for this purposeJklqAt the ends of the pins are mounted screw fcaps 5--5, the same being spaced fromthelbars b means of washers 6, some of the washers eing inserted between the inner edges of the bars and the arm 2. By mounting the ends of the barsin the manner just described, a certain degree of rotative 1 movement is permitted between the pins 4-4 and the free ends of the resilient bars 1-1, thus' providing a more or less flexible n is to be observed that the bars 1-;-1

are spaced apart vertically-a distanceslightly'greater thanthe width of each" bar, and inasmuch as the bars themselves are "direction and relatively non-y-ieldable in a "vertical direction, an impact surface of considerable widthfissecured. In the absence of 'additional connections between thejbars. 119 -1, a rather unstable structure would re.

sult, and for this reason an additional reinfOrcing bar is included inthe structure. This'bar 7 extends throughout the central mounted 'so as to be yieldable ina horizontal origin of the bar 7.

indirectly with the bars 1-1.

portion of the bumper, terminating short of the extreme ends thereof. and furthermore. lies in a horizontal plane between the planes of the bars 1-1 forming the main parts of the bumper structure. Considering, for convenience, that the bar 7 originates at the central point of the impact section A, and in the vertical plane of the bars l1. said bar extends outwardly and rearwardly at an angle of about 30 degrees to the front impact member A to pomtssubstantially midway between the extreme ends of the bumper and the point of connection of the free ends of the bars 1-1 with the arms 22, and at these points the bar is anchoredbetween the rear portions of the bars 1 1 by means of pairs of clamping plates 8 -8 bearing fiatwise against the faces of the several bars, and secured together by means of bolts 9-9 as clearly shown in F i 6. From these points of connection with the rear ortions of the bars L-l, the ends of the bar 7 are bent forwardly and inwardly in the form of U-shaped portions 7 -7, the free ends of which terminate in the vertical plane of the impact section A, and at equal distances from the central oint or At the centraFportion of the impact member, as well as the outer ends thereof at which the bar 7 originates and terminates, connecting members are employed for clearly fixing or anchoring the three bars together; namely, the two main impact bars 11, and the secondary or reinforcing bar 7. At the central point of the impact member, a connecting member such as shown in Fig. 3 is used, this member comprisin a pin 8 on which is loosely carried two b ocks 10-10 having integral hook members 1O10" which en age the extreme edges of the bars 1- 1. Between the blocks 1010, which occupy positions adjacent the ends of the pin 8, is mounted a locking plate 11 bearing against the outer faces of the bars 1- -1 and 7, and provided with integral ears 12-12 which project between the adjacent edges of said bars and engage the pin 8 by means of apertures formed in said ears. At the ends of the pin 8 are mounted screw caps 13-13, either of which may be removed inorder to disassemble the parts of the connecting member.

The ends of the bar 7 are connected to the bars 11 by means of similar connecting members such as shown in detail in Fig.

4. A pin 14: is used in the same manner as before described, there being xnounted on the pin pairs of hook blocks 1 5-45, each pair gri ping each of the bars 1-1 between them. he'central portion of the pin 14 is engaged by an eye 16 formed at each extremity of the bar 7, thereb effecting a pivotal connection directly with the pin, and

It is manifest that the presence of a reinforcing bar 7 adds considerable rigidity to the structure. as well as increasing the capacity of the structure to withstand impacts received. It is clear that a shock delivered against the impact surface is partially resisted by the resiliency of the bars l-l and artially by the reinforcing bar T, the inc ined portions extending rearwardly and outwardly from the central point of the impact section A serving as 7. brace or truss members, whereas the U- shaped end portions 77 serve as resilient spring members which reinforce the end sections B B and resist those forces, tending to flatten the impact section A against the rear portions of the end sections B B intermediate the extreme ends of the bumper, and the points of attachment thereof, with the vehicle frame. Moreover, the vertical anchoring of the several bars together at various points throughout the bumper structure affords the necessary rigidity igainst vibration. which a bumper is subected to in the driving of the vehicle over rough roads and pavements. The connecting members used for this purpose securely tie all the parts together, thus forming a strong and yet yieldable protective structure.

Having described the features of my invention, I claim as new and useful:

I. In a bumper. the combination of a plurality of parallel bars spaced apart vertically throughout the length of the bumper, and bent rearwardly and inwardly throughout their end portions into U-shape, means for connecting the free ends of said bars to the vehicle frame members, and a reinforcing bar connected centrally of said parallel bars and extending rearwardly and forwardly between the U-shaped end portions, 10" and attached at their free ends to said parallel bars short of the ends of the bumper.

2. In a bumper, the combination of aplurality of parallel bars spaced apart vertically throughout the length of the bumper, and bent rearwardly and inwardly throughout their end portions into U-shape, and a single bar fixed at the central portion of said parallel bar, and extending outwardly to said U-shaped end portions thereof, and terminating in end ortions extending transversely of said U- aped end portions.

3. In a bumper, the combination of a plurality of parallel bars spaced apart vertically throughout the length of the bumper, and bent rearwardly and inwardly throughout their end portions into U-shape. and a single bar fixed at the central portion of said parallel bar, and extending outwardly to said U-shaped end portions thereof, and termine-ting in end portions extending transversely of said U-shaped end portions short of the outer ends thereof.

t. In a bumper, the combination of a pair of resilient bars spaced apart vertically throughout the" length of the bumper, and bent rearwardly and inwardly at their ends for attachment to the frame members of a vehicle, and a single resilient bar fixed centrally of the bumper between said parallel bars, and extending outwardly toward the ends thereof, terminating in forwardly bent end portions extending transversely of the bent end portions of said parallel bars.

5. In a bumper, the combination of a pair of resilient bars spaced apart vertically throughout the length of the bumper, and bent rearwardly and inwardly at their ends for attachment to the frame members of a vehicle, and a reinforcing bar fixed intermediatethe ends of said parallel bars, and extending rearwardly and outwardly toward the ends thereof, the end portions of said reinforcing bar being bent forwardly short of the ends of the bumper, and connected to said parallel bars.

6. In a bumper, the combination of a pair of resilient bars spaced apart vertically throughout the length of the bumper, and bent rearwardly and inwardly at their ends for attachment to the frame members of a vehicle, and a reinforcing bar extending outwardly and rearwardly from the central point of said parallel bars, to the inwardly bent end portions thereof, and thence forwardly terminating between said parallel bars short of the ends of the bumper, and connecting members at the several points of engagement.

7. In a bumper, the combination of a pair of parallel bars spaced apart vertically throughout the length of the bumper, and bent rearwardly and inwardly at their ends for attachment to a vehicle, and a slngle resilient bar bent to form Ushaped end portions extending transversely of the bent end portions of said parallel bars, and short of the ends of the bumper, and oblique portions converging toward the central point of said parallel bars, and members for con necting said reinforcing bar between said parallel bars, at the several points of engagement.

8. In a bumper, the combination of a pair of parallel bars spaced apart vertically throughout the length of the bumper, and bentrearwardly and inwardly at their ends for attachment to a vehicle, and a single resilient bar originating between said parallel bars, and centrally of the bumper, and extending rearwardly and outwardly, terminating in U-shaped end portions extending transversely of the space between the bent end portions of the parallel bars, and connecting members for securing the reinforcing bar between said parallel bars at their several points of vertical alinement.

9. In a bumper, the combination of a pair of parallel bars spaced apart vertically throughout the length of the bumper, and bent rearwardly and inwardly at their ends for attachment to a vehicle, and a single resilient bar extending from the central portion of the bumper outwardly and rearwardly, and terminating in U-shaped end portions extending transversely between the bent end portions of said parallel bars,-the free ends of said single bar having pivotal connection with said parallel bars, short of the ends of the bumper.

I11 witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 11th day of January. A. D. 1921.

ALLAN L. Mccni zcon. 

